Pianist Sean Chen Returns for Mississippi College Concert

Sean Chen

Pianist Sean Chen continues to dazzle audiences around the USA with his stellar performances in cities like Chicago, Denver, Louisville and Los Angeles.

A medalist at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Chen makes his return to Mississippi College with a February 5 concert on the Clinton campus.

The 26-year-old American artist is among the headliners of the 6^th annual James S. Sclater Chamber Music Series. The programs honor the retired MC professor and award-winning composer from Clinton.

Chen will be accompanied by violinist Betty Zhou and Thomas Park on horn that Friday evening at the Jean Pittman Williams Recital Hall. The one-hour concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

The talented group will play Brahms’ “Horn Trio” along with Ligeti’s “Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano” and Ravel’s “Sonatine.”

Last year on the Clinton campus, Chen presented “a brilliant solo piano concert,” said Angela Willoughby, who chairs the MC Music Department. “He is an artist of astounding ability and musicality.”

The chamber concert will be quite a treat for music students and the entire metro Jackson community, she said. And the Williams Recital Hall “is the perfect setting for chamber music.”

Honors keep coming for Sean Chen. He was named a 2015 Fellow by the Lenore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing Arts. He performs concerts February 19 in Beverly Hills, California goes to Saint John’s Cathedral in Denver on February 26 and joins the San Angelo (Texas) Symphony on March 5. Chen is booked for a concert at the University of Louisville School of Music on March 21.

During his MC trip, Chen will share his insights on the piano as he visits several music classes.

Tickets cost $5 for students with an ID and $20 for other music patrons. Tickets are available at the door or can be ordered in advance by calling Dottie Serio of the Music Department at 601-925-3440. Patrons can also try email at music@mc.edu or go online to mc.edu/marketplace